Indoor Bulbs - Help for my very un-green fingers Please!

SueC_2

Somewhat immodest confession first - there are lots of things I'm pretty good at, including the ability to totally annihilate anything green!

A few years ago someone gave me an absolutely glorious basket arrangement of spring flowers for my February birthday - I can't remember exactly what was in there, but it was daffodils and the like. Allegedly it should re-bloom each year.

What I've had every year since is a lovely spread of long green leaves, but not a flower to be seen.

I'm quite impressed that I've managed to keep it alive this long, so don't want to give up on it. Is there something I should be doing to 'encourage' the pretty bits?

Thank you green-fingered ones!

A._Badger

Your fingers might not be as ungreen as you imagine. By and large, these decorative displays aren't meant to flower again and (especially for a newcomer) keeping one sufficiently well for the bulbs to have come back into leaf is an achievement.

It seems to me there are two things you could do. The first is remove the bulbs and plant them in the garden, where they will enjoy a natural life and flower again (all being well) the following spring.

The second is a gamble but it might work. Get yourself a packer of general purpose plant feed (Phostrogen would be best - not Baby Bio, which is not best for flowering plants) and, when you water the basket, add some feed at the rate of a pinch to a pint. Keep feeding until the leaves start to die down then let them dry-out (as I presume you have been doing) and keep your fingers crossed for next year.

Hope that's some help.

SueC_2

A._Badger wrote: »

The first is remove the bulbs and plant them in the garden, where they will enjoy a natural life and flower again (all being well) the following spring.

I live in a second floor flat with no outside space , so won't be able to do that, but I'm sure I can stretch to putting a bit of food grub in their water.

Someone once said something about putting them somewhere dark over the winter, is there any truth in that?

Thank you!

A._Badger

Ah! In the basket they'll have to stay, in that case.

But no, you'd only put bulbs in the dark if they had been specially treated so that you could force them into early flowering with a period in darkness.

In this case, just follow the natural cycle of bulbs growing outdoors. Let the leaves die down in summer and then start watering and feeding again in the late winter/spring.

Good luck!

Vibrant

Daffodils need a few months of cold weather, otherwise they wont flower. Presumably your flat is too warm for them. You need to find somewhere cold to hide them for the winter.

SueC_2

Hmmm, I have a built in cupboard that for some reason is always several degrees cooler than elsewhere, but that would mean putting them in the dark as well as the cold. Is that likely to do more harm than good?

I've also been watering them all year round, so maybe I should refrain from that this year and let them dry out till the end of Winter.

Ooo, I'm quite excited about next Spring already! Thanks both for your help.

Vibrant

Hi SueC,
I doubt the cupboard would be cold enough, it needs to be about 5C. You could use the fridge (not the freezer compartment), but I have never tried this method, as I have a big garden. I would put the pot in the fridge in Oct and remove start of Feb, keep the compost very slightly moist, not wet.
Then in Feb put the pot somewhere, cool but bright (bedroom window?) and they should spring into bloom in three, or four weeks.

Once the leaves have died down, it doesn't matter about being in the dark and you don't need to water again, until you begin forcing. I wouldn't force them sooner than they would normally bloom, as forcing weakens the bulbs.
Don't use a high nitrogen feed, as you will get lots of leaves and few flowers.

An easier method, is to plant the pot in someone elses garden, until the bulb shoots start to show, then bring it home.

SueC_2

This is all great info, thanks so much. I've just been and bought some phostrogen, and will print out the rest of the instructions so that I remember to do something in October! Thanks again.